The 2nd Annual Quarter Quell Haymitch's Story
by kirsten88tennis
Summary: This story is about the 2nd annual Quarter Quell when Katniss and Peeta's mentor was in the Hunger Games and won.
1. Chapter 1

It was a beautiful summer day. The grass was green and the flowers were blooming. The bees were out and flying from blossoming flower to flower. She had her fingers intertwined with mine as we walked out of the school yard and home to our houses in the Seam. I held her books with mine in my right arm as she swung our hands back and forth. She was the prettiest girl in all of District 12 and I was lucky enough to have her. It was a perfect day that we both knew wouldn't last long. We knew tonight was the annual announcement of the Quarter Quell. This could either rip us apart or bring us together because we knew we only had two more years until we were 18 and too old to be put into the reaping.

She turned to me and asked me a very simple question. "Have you ever noticed the most beautiful days are always the most unnerving?"

I turned to her and looked her in the eyes and said "Every day is beautiful when I can spend it with you". She looked at me and I saw tears were coming to her eyes but she quickly whipped them away and we continued to walk.

"Oh Haymitch if we could just run away from all this and live together and have our own kids and ensure that they will not be in the reaping that would make me so happy," She said.

When we finally reached the Seam I walked her all the way to her door even though my own house was on the opposite side of the Seam. When I gave her, her books back I kissed her and told her to not worry tonight only told us what to expect during the reaping not who was going to the Quarter Quell. After I told her this she seemed much happier and less nervous.

I ran home because my mom had to go and work and I had to watch my little sister Tulip. I ran as fast as I could and when I got the door my mom was about to leave. She said food is on the table eat when you are hungry and Tulip has a bad cough and needs a little cough medicine before she goes to sleep. If she still can't sleep give her some sleep medicine but just a little bit. I told her okay and hurry before she was late.

After my mom left Tulip saw me and was happy to see me."Haymitch can we please play something I feel much better and don't need to rest like mother said I do I can play really look I am not even," she was interrupted by a very bad coughing fit. I told her to lie down and tell me when she was hungry so I could heat up the food.

I went to the table to do my homework and saw that all we had for dinner was broth again. I heard Tulip call for me and she said she was really hungry so I started the food. When I was just about to serve it my mom came rushing in and told me to turn the T.V. on quick that President Snow had an announcement before the Quarter Quell announcement.

"Hello Panem and I would like to take this time that all of you are tuned in to remind you of the dark days. We have a reporter in District 13 live right now and would like you to see what the Hunger Games and the Quarter Quell are really about," beamed President Snow.

The reporter talked about how the uprising led to the destruction of one district and the punishment of 12. Every year we send two tributes on female and one male between the ages of 12 and 18 to the Capitol to go into the Hunger Games and battle to the death. But every 25 years we have a Quarter Quell which has an extra special twist. This year it is 50 so that means the second annual Quarter Quell. The first Quarter Quell the District voted on what tributes to send into the Quarter Quell.

The reporter was done and President Snow came back on the screen this time he had a box in his hand. He opened the lid and pulled out the little envelope that said 50 on it. He opened it and read it for all of Panem to be shocked.

"On the second annual Quarter Quell there shall be twice the number of tributes offered up for reminder of the dark days," President Snow said. It took me a minute to think about this then realized there will be 2 boys and 2 girls from each district going in. That meant twice the chance I would be going in and twice the chance I would never get to see Lilac again. I ran out the door so fast I didn't realize my mother yelled that it was raining till I was half way to her house. I saw it a few feet away and then the door opened and she was standing there waiting for me. I got to her picked her up and kissed her till I needed a breath and stared into her beautiful gray blue eyes until we couldn't take it anymore and kissed again.

"If I go in I will come out and I will come back to you," I told Lilac. She looked at me and started to cry. I whipped the tear away with my thumb and then we sat there. She was in my lap and we sat in the rain for hours until it was late and almost curfew. I kissed her goodnight and ran home. I told myself if I go in I come out for her and I will not die and leave her to live here alone. For the first time I am telling the truth I will kill for her.


	2. Chapter 2

When I crashed through my front door of my house I was so out of breath from running and kissing. I knew I had a very high chance of going into the Quarter Quell seeing as how my name would be in the reaping 20 times. Seeing as how I took out tesserae for me and my mom (little Tulip is only 4 and doesn't need a whole one to herself) and I got Lilac one for 2 years now instead of having her enter her name more times.

When I closed the door my mom came and almost killed me for running out of the house like that. She said that I scared Tulip so badly that she wouldn't go to sleep until I came home and wouldn't take her sleep syrup unless I was there. I was here now and went into her room. She saw me and her face light up.

"Haymitch will you sleep with me so the monsters don't get me?" asked Tulip.

"Tulip I will always sleep with you to keep the monsters away," I told her. She smiled so wide I couldn't help but laugh at her. We curled up under the blankets together and we fell asleep just like that.

The next morning was the day before the reaping. Me and Lilac spent the whole day playing with Tulip. Tulip absolutely adored Lilac and looked up to her. It was a beautiful day out. You could smell the rain that laid on the flowers petals. The grass in the meadow was as green and lush as ever. It was the perfect day and I thought about what Lilac had told me yesterday how every beautiful day is ruined with the Capitol or being in District 12.

She held my hand just like she did the day before swinging it back and forth as Tulip ran ahead of us to pick some flowers to give to Lilac. I thought about how tomorrow could really ruin my life. Me and Lilac would have kids in the future and be doing this for the rest of our lives walking with our kids running ahead of us to pick flowers.

It was getting late and the sun was going down behind the forest. Me and Tulip walked Lilac home and I kissed her before I walked with Tulip in my arms back to my house. We got home and my mom was at work and I knew tomorrow was the reaping but didn't tell Tulip because I feared she would not sleep and she still had a slight cough.

Me and Tulip curled up in bed like we did the day before and fell asleep just like that. I was keeping the monsters away from her even though the biggest and scariest one of them all was one we couldn't fight.

The next morning I went to Lilac's house for a little while before we had to get ready for the reaping. When I came back to my house Tulip was all dressed up in a beautiful green dress with her hair in a simple braid. I told her she looked beautiful and went and got ready myself. When I came out she came up to me and whispered in my ear that I was beautiful too. My mom took Tulip to the reaping and I met up with Lilac. We walked hand in hand just like we always did. We got to the reaping and got in line. They took our blood and checked us in. We got in line with all the other 16 year olds and I was right next to my best friend Tate. Tate and I have been best friends since we were about 3 or 4. Lilac was one of our friends too until we started dating each other.

He was about to say something when the ever so perky escort for District 12 came out. Her name was Venita. Venita wore a brightly colored dress that was almost neon yellow. Her hair was died to match the dress and it was so bright I almost couldn't look at her.

"Hello and welcome to the 50th annual Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor," Venita beamed. "Now this year is special and we will be picking 2 boys and 2 girls to be the District 12 tributes for this year." "As always we will start with the girls." She walked over to the bowl that held all the names and picked two envelopes instead of one.

"The first girl tribute to represent District 12 in the Quarter Quell is Poppy Finch," said Venita. The girl who looked to be about 17 walked up to the front slowly and looked shocked. She didn't have the gray eyes or dark hair like the people in the Seam had so I am assuming she was one of the merchant's kids.

"The second girl tribute to represent District 12 in the Quarter Quell is Maysilee Donner," said Venita. I looked and saw the girl looked to be the same age as me maybe 15 and two girls were right next to her one identical to her and the other one had similar features. I knew this girl from school and that was her twin sister and their best friend. They looked heartbroken.

"And now we will pick the boy tributes," beamed Venita. She walked over to the bowl with all the names of the boys and picked two. My heart started to pound because this was the nerve racking part. She went back to the microphone and opened the first envelope.

"The first boy tribute to represent District 12 in the Quarter Quell is Adam Benckridge," Venita called out. The boy looked about 14 or 15 and he had the gray eyes and the dark hair that most Seam kids had.

"And last but not least the second boy tribute to represent District 12 in the Quarter Quell is…" and I was never going to be prepared enough for the name she called out.


	3. Chapter 3

I was walking through a meadow. My fingers intertwined with someone else's. A little boy and two little girls ran ahead of me and the other person. They called me daddy and told me to hurry up to run. I looked over and saw Lilac holding my hand. At the end of the meadow where stairs. I climbed up and that is when I snapped back to reality. Everything I just dreamed is gone with a simple call of a name. _Haymitch Abernathy_ still rang in my ears like it will never leave me and will haunt my dreams. I looked into the crowd and found Lilac and Tate in the sea of people. Lilac was as pale as a ghost and Tate was trying to comfort her. I looked further into the sea and saw my mom with Tulip in her arms crying and weeping.

I looked to my left and right at the other three tributes from my district. Maysilee Donner who I could use as an ally and the other girl tribute Poppy Finch I knew for a fact would be either my enemy or friend but not an ally. Now the boy Adam Benckridge I knew he was in my grade at school but he was stronger and faster and better looking than me so he will probably not choose me as an ally and the same goes for me.

The anthem played and we were ushered into the Justice Building so we could have our last goodbyes with family and friends. First Tate came in and told me that Lilac was very uneasy and upset and he would look out for her and make sure she was doing okay and then we talked about strategies until his time was up we hugged goodbye which we rarely did and he was gone. The best strategy we came up with was my brains. Next came in my mom and Tulip. My mom looked like she was holding back tears until she was home and Tulip was fast asleep. Tulip came up to me and hugged me so tight I was scared the peacekeepers would have to pry her off of me.

"What am I going to do when you aren't there to keep the monsters away from me?" Tulip whispered in my ear. I told her that I will be with her in her dreams and that seemed to make her happy again. The peacekeepers came in once again and Tulip almost did have to be pried off of me but eventually she reluctantly let go. I was still waiting for Lilac to come in and I was worried she never would. When she did come in she just ran to me and kissed me. We didn't say anything until she had to leave and all that was said was I love you and don't die and I will never leave you here alone. I thought no one else would come except Tate's sister who was a year younger than me came in and told me to never lose hope and remember that you could win. Then she gave me a beautiful necklace that had a Lilac on it. She told me to wear it as a district token. I asked if she wanted it and she told me that she always hated the necklace and thought that a Lilac would keep me focused on coming home.

After Tate's sister no one else came in. Eventually the peacekeepers came in and ushered us into the cars that would take us to the train station that would take us to our death. The whole way to the train station I sat there with the necklace in my hand rubbing it in between my fingers. When we got to the station we took a few pictures then we got on the train and we were on our way to the Capitol. I was assigned my compartment and I took a shower for the first time ever. It was different having the water come down instead of laying in it. I opened the drawers and found clothes so I put a red shirt and black pants on. I was about to lie down on my bed and try to sleep when Venita called me for dinner. I came out and Maysilee and Adam had red eyes from crying while me and Poppy would show no weakness. The food on the train was so rich I could barely keep it down. I knew I had to though because I needed to bulk up for the arena. Venita told us that our mentor was not able to mentor us due to an illness. So Venita would be our Mentor and our escort. After we finished eating our dinner and dessert we went back to our cars to get ready for bed. When I was in my compartment I heard to people walk past it was a girl and boy. The boy was obviously Adam and the girl didn't sound like Maysilee so I am assuming it is Poppy. I heard them talking about the games.

"Okay so we are allies in the games until it gets down to the final 10 or 12?" asked Adam.

"Yes and the first we get rid of is that other tribute," said Poppy.

"Which one the one with the brains or the athletic one?" asked Adam.

"The boy, the one with the brains, Haymitch. He is either going to get to the final 5 or win. So we kill him off in the bloodbath at the cornucopia and merge with the careers and then split when it is final 15 then we split at 10. Deal?" said Poppy. I was shocked I was already dead.


End file.
